Underplayed Gems

The Mind-Benders (1967)

The Mind-Benders poster
Original title
The Mind-Benders: LSD and the Hallucinogens
Directed by
Lee R. Bobker
Genre
documentary
Country
United States
Runtime
25 min
Rating
7.0 of 10 from 2 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

This 1960s government documentary looks at LSD and other hallucinogens. It shows interviews with users and doctors, and includes graphics meant to suggest a drug experience.

educationalclinicalcautionaryinformationaldatedinstructionalsober

What happens

The Mind-Benders is an educational antidrug documentary film concerning hallucinogens produced for the United States Food and Drug Administration in 1967. It "explores the potential therapeutic uses and the known hazards of LSD and other hallucinogens, as well as some of the motivations of abusers". The color 16 mm film was made available from Bureau of Drug Abuse Control field offices and from the FDA National Medical Audiovisual Center. The government's description states that it contains "graphics that suggest a hallucinogenic experience, snippets of interviews with users (who explain their reasons for taking the drug) and doctors, and taped sessions of research with volunteers, the film delves into the destructive as well as possible positive uses of the drug". According to some academics, the policies pursued by the government including this and other anti-drug films, "structured social experience [of users]...in such a way as to generate experiences defined as bad trips". The film was recommended for school curricula by government and non-government authorities, and was used in some U.S. schools. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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